From Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Adrián Díaz, business development consultant in Asia.Eliminating intermediaries seems a natural process for every entrepreneur who wants to obtain a product in the best possible conditions. Arriving at the source or, thinking that we have arrived at the source gives us satisfaction and is a priority objective of many buyers in China.The majority does not get it, however, that same majority thinks that it has done it and that it is buying in the factory.Today, in the far east, we are going to talk about factories and traders.How many times have we heard that “I buy at the factory”. Intuitively, it seems clear that buying at the factory is better. We will not see anyone comment proudly buying the intermediary of an intermediary. It is difficult for a television ad to seduce us with a “buy mattress to the best broker in the market”. The normal thing is that they tempt us with a “factory direct”.Perhaps the first speaker sinned honest and said no, maybe the second too, but I assure you that in this simple mechanism of trial / error the Chinese already understood some years ago, that answering “no” to that question does not work. Therefore, they answer “yes”. And they answer yes in a variety of options tanned by years of experience. Yes and you are here, yes and you can visit us whenever you want, yes and we have many factories, if you look at this business card that says here … and many more.Yes and you can visit us whenever you want comes also from having learned that when they started to lie and say yes without more, the most well-versed buyers would say: “Well, when can we visit?” And then a bunch of excuses would arise … “is that it is very far, it is that you have to go by plane, it is all displayed on the stand “. The “we have many factories” is a very new trader but you can still find it sometimes. What you see this card that puts it here is sensational, taking into account that at the entrance of the fairground you print 100 cards for $ 1.5 and you can write on them, if you want, that your uncle invented the internet.In short, I never recommend buying at fairs but it is a good contact with the country.In my experience in China, I would say that between 7 and 8 out of 10 customers who believe they buy in the factory do not. It’s funny when they try to show you yes, they have visited the factory, they have sat at the owner’s table, they have been at their wedding and many other incontestable evidence that they are really buying at the factory … no, undeniable proof that really the Chinese are smarter than us.I leave this topic open for future episodes because the objective of this is not to show that we are not really buying in the factory, it is to debate whether buying directly from the factory is what interests us the most.But if they are not factories who claim to be … what are they? They are traders.But what is a trader. Because they exist?Traders are in all countries but it is true that China developed them as a subspecies and gave them a remarkable space in international trade.A trader is basically an intermediary. Buy the products and sell them. Most of the time neither buy them or at least not acquire them. Many of the traders we work with are a company that consists of our contact person, a briefcase and a laptop. But beware, it is not a parasite, they fulfill a function.The problem is that we are not used to paying for services or, we think we can make them ourselves saving that cost, traders have a bad reputation.Where did they come from? Reducing it to absurdity, he used to say that a trader was the clever kid in the town who spoke English, or at least believed he knew how to speak it and was smart enough to run a computer. By creating a catalog of the products of the village factories, he was able to print flyers, present himself at a fair with four samples or, years later, prepare a website and advertise on Alibaba.In that first opening period, the factories did not have enough vision to hire a fellow who spoke English. It is true that many times, in remote areas, and included the outskirts of Shanghai as a remote area in the late 90s, it was difficult to find someone who spoke English. The traders were the simplest interface to join two worlds.We must also think about the origin of China’s opening to the world. Leaving aside the privatization of state factories at the time when the Chinese discovered that if you turned employees into entrepreneurs, suddenly, the factories went on to produce 10 times more … the majority of the factories with foreign investment were placed in the area of Guangdong, in the newly created Shenzhen, which went from being a fishing village of 30,000 inhabitants to more than 13 million today. This happened basically because most of the foreign direct investment came from Hong Kong and Taiwan … A fact that we usually ignore when we say that the US and Europe developed China.

Our Global Rewards MarketplaceTM offers a wide variety of ultra-motivating, ultra-customizable award options for your employees, channel reps and customers. We know from our global experience and scientific research that the type of rewards you offer to your audience can make an enormous impact. Combine a tailored suite of tantalizing rewards with high-touch service (and budget control), and your audience—and you—will feel like winners.

You've never rewarded like this before.
Not all rewards are equal. To make your investment pay off, you need efficacy.

Efficacy refers to the ability something has to produce a desired result. We know—and research confirms— that hedonistic rewards, or those on the right-side of the spectrum below, have higher efficacy than those that are cash or utilitarian-based.

The Efficacy Continuum is important, but it’s not the whole story. When designing your tailored suite of awards, we consider audience, budget and context to develop a Global Rewards Marketplace that’s a perfect fit for your goals.

Experiences. Have you always dreamt of flying the skies in a hot air balloon? How about speeding around a track in a Formula One car? We offer thousands of options for your audience to get out and experience something. From gourmet dining to surfing lessons, these high-demand opportunities make lasting memories—and result in serious motivation.

Merchandise. Our Managed Marketplace features a curated, international offering of products aimed at motivating and inspiring your audience. These are the items on your wish list you’d find hard to justify buying for yourself. The Marketplace is designed for high sociability (it’s easier—and less awkward—to show off your new television than a cash bonus.)

Travel. Our propriety VentureOut travel engine lets you book all your vacation needs on one easy-to-use platform. You can manage:

Hotel and resort stays
Flights
Car rental
Tours and transfers
Cruises
Events. Sports fan? Give your audience an opportunity to earn tickets through the Global Rewards Marketplace. Music lover? You’ve got your choice of attending a show at massive venues like Red Rocks or more intimate spaces like First Avenue. We also have you covered for local attractions, theaters, museums and theme parks.

Gift Cards. Thanks to our global network, we have a large variety of gift card options from most countries around the world. Many can be delivered electronically via email or SMS.

award options for your employees, channel reps and customers. We know from our global experience and scientific research that the type of rewards you offer to your audience can make an enormous impact. Combine a tailored suite of tantalizing rewards with high-touch service (and budget control), and your audience—and you—will feel like winners.

You've never rewarded like this before.
Not all rewards are equal. To make your investment pay off, you need efficacy.

Efficacy refers to the ability something has to produce a desired result. We know—and research confirms— that hedonistic rewards, or those on the right-side of the spectrum below, have higher efficacy than those that are cash or utilitarian-based.

The Efficacy Continuum is important, but it’s not the whole story. When designing your tailored suite of awards, we consider audience, budget and context to develop a Global Rewards Marketplace that’s a perfect fit for your goals.

Experiences. Have you always dreamt of flying the skies in a hot air balloon? How about speeding around a track in a Formula One car? We offer thousands of options for your audience to get out and experience something. From gourmet dining to surfing lessons, these high-demand opportunities make lasting memories—and result in serious motivation.

Merchandise. Our Managed Marketplace features a curated, international offering of products aimed at motivating and inspiring your audience. These are the items on your wish list you’d find hard to justify buying for yourself. The Marketplace is designed for high sociability (it’s easier—and less awkward—to show off your new television than a cash bonus.)

Travel. Our propriety VentureOut travel engine lets you book all your vacation needs on one easy-to-use platform. You can manage:

Hotel and resort stays
Flights
Car rental
Tours and transfers
Cruises
Events. Sports fan? Give your audience an opportunity to earn tickets through the Global Rewards Marketplace. Music lover? You’ve got your choice of attending a show at massive venues like Red Rocks or more intimate spaces like First Avenue. We also have you covered for local attractions, theaters, museums and theme parks.

Gift Cards. Thanks to our global network, we have a large variety of gift card options from most countries around the world. Many can be delivered electronically via email or SMS.

A well-constructed employee recognition program pays dividends in engagement, loyalty and productivity. But it’s not about doling out cash or “employee-of-the-month” plaques. It’s about strategically building a culture of recognition. It’s about infusing employee recognition into the everyday life of your business.

We believe that recognition and rewards should be meticulously planned, strategic elements of your employee engagement program. They should identify and reinforce behaviors that are in line with your organization’s core values. This is your opportunity to say — both to the recipient and to everyone else — “This is what we stand for. This is what we are looking for among our team members.”At BI WORLDWIDE, we’re the leader in global employee recognition. We know that specific, timely recognition is the most effective way to acknowledge employees’ accomplishments. We also know that how you as a company treat your employees will come back to you — for better or for worse.We’ll work with you to build a successful recognition strategy using these key tactics.

First and foremost: manager engagement. Train them on the importance of recognition and how to effectively recognize employees.Clearly define expectations from the beginning. This message should come from the top and be reinforced by all levels of management.Ensure that recognized behaviors align with corporate values.Determine specific employee rewards and recognition strategies that are “glocal” – can be applied globally, taking into account local customs and values.

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Measure, measure and measure again. Think employee recognition isn’t quantifiable? Think again. Accurate, consistent measurement will keep recognition top of mind — and will prove that your recognition strategy is truly making an impact.Our expertise in employee recognition spans around the globe and across every industry. We’ll work with you to discover what an effective employee recognition program looks like for your company, including which rewards to offer that will be most meaningful for the people that make up your organization.

We won't deliver a one-size-fits-all approach. We are strategic about offering an employee rewards selection that features a mix of brand merchandise, lifestyle, symbolic and travel incentive rewards. We will deliver rewards that are compelling and motivating.Global Engagement Agency

Additionally, we manage reward fulfillment for participants in more than 120 countries through catalogs specific to each country. Our differentiator is local fulfillment. This, combined with our own supply chain, eliminates unnecessary “middle men” expenditures. It also enables us to make sure the rewards we’re offering are culturally relevant to your recipients.Let’s establish an employee recognition and rewards strategy that motivates and celebrates your entire organization.